From the very beginning of the show Jazz has been level-headed and mature, if a bit overbearing in her insistence that she’s wiser than any child or adult around. Since learning Danny’s secret in My Brother’s Keeper she has been lurking in the background, covering his tracks and providing him with alibis. As recently as The Fenton Menace and The Ultimate Enemy she has been laboring mightily on behalf of his mental health and immortal soul. Furthermore, it was established in Fanning the Flames, Maternal Instincts and The Fenton Menace that Jazz is both physically coordinated and skilled with weapons.

Now it’s perfectly natural that she would want to take a more active role in supporting her brother’s work, now that her support no longer needs to be kept secret. For that reason, this episode is a natural fit at this point in the series; in fact, they would have been remiss if they had not addressed this new stage in her character arc. And it’s also perfectly natural that her overbearing assistance would not be welcomed, and that she would quickly make a nuisance of herself.

But why was it necessary to regress her character to that of a clumsy, immature child?

Structurally, emotionally, thematically, this episode is near perfect. I have no problem with Danny’s annoyed response to Jazz’s eager volunteerism, nor am I disturbed with her decision to take matters into her own hands to prove her worth. Except for the unnecessary immaturity in the first act, this is actually a fairly respectful treatment of her character. Yes, she got in over her head, and yes, she needed to be rescued, but she also participated actively in her own escape and got a few hits in—both against Vlad and against her brother. I was actually a little disappointed at the tone of the final scene, in which Jazz essentially surrendered the field, agreeing to stay out of Danny’s way instead of training to be a better member of the team. (A final-scene twist that reminds me sadly of Tucker's surrender at the end of King Tuck.)

Vlad’s role is a wonderful blend of smarmy kindness and cold-blooded calculation, although he was uncharacteristically ineffective and slow to react at the end. He risked a great deal in letting Jazz use the ecto-skeleton, even with the bloodstream nanobots as a threat. And that makes me wonder what he was planning to do with the nanobots in the first place? Were they indeed meant to keep the ecto-skeleton’s user safe? Did he plan to use them in his own blood, so he could safely operate the ecto-skeleton himself?

The fight scene on the football field was very well scripted and was fun to watch as well. I don’t notice the animation all that often, but I was struck by the unusual lighting and varied camera angles; the moment when Danny turned the ecto-skeleton intangible and slammed it (and Jazz) deep into the turf sent shivers down my spine.

By: bluemoonalto

Rating: None given

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